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'Significant human remains' were discovered at the site in March. Laura Hutton/Rollingnews.ie

The 'mixing of remains' will make it very difficult to identify babies at Tuam site

“There are currently no known comparative sites, nationally or internationally,” said the Department of Children in a statement.

IT WILL BE extremely difficult to identify the individual remains discovered at the Tuam mother and baby home in Galway, as the remains of the babies are “commingled”.

Providing its monthly update on developments in the Tuam investigation, the Department of Children said in a statement this evening that as the remains are intermingled with each other, it represents a “significant complication to individual identification”.

Earlier this year, the commission of investigation into these homes found “significant human remains” in a structure which appeared to be “related to the treatment/containment of sewerage and/or wastewater”.

Between 1925 and 1960, 796 children died at the Tuam mother and baby home.

Minister Katherine Zappone had indicated that a monthly update would be provided on the ongoing investigations at the site, the first of which was issued this evening.

The site at Tuam, the department said, has “unique and specific aspects” that mean that there are “currently no known comparative sites, nationally or internationally”.

One the aspects that makes it so complex, it said, was this “commingling/intermixing of human remains”. The statement added:

This is more acute in the case of juvenile human remains due to their fragile nature, compounded by the potentially significant quantities involved.

The unknown stability of the chamber in which the remains are in also poses a significant problem.

The department said: “The forensic excavation of a subsurface structure within an enclosed space leads to very specific health and safety considerations that must be negated if any proposed intrusive recovery works are undertaken at this site.”

Due to these issues, “there is no clear national or international precedent to follow,” it said.

At this point, four options are being considered to allow for a forensic investigation of the remains to take place, ranked from least to most intrusive.

The final technical report examining these options with regard to “feasibility, requirements, expected outcomes, timelines and estimated costs” will be delivered to Minister Zappone in September.

An Irish-based forensic archaeologist, a US-based forensic anthropologist and a UK-based forensic scientist have been enlisted to be part of the team that examines the burial site.

The minister said recently that she was considering broadening the terms of reference for the independent commission investigating mother and baby homes to “help to answer some of the questions which have been raised again in public debate”.

Read: ‘Today is about Tuam’: Catherine Corless commends Zappone for appointing experts to investigate burial site

Read: ‘Something urgent has to be done with the Tuam site – it can’t just be left as it is’

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29 Comments
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    Mute Paula T Nolan
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    May 17th 2021, 3:12 PM

    Lingering resentment due to lingering cost – still paying the Universal Social Charge. Also, it gave employers a new license to shrimp on salaries. I now take home the same after tax pay as in 2008. Resentment? Bloody furious. Especially as most of the boyos who facilitated crash are lining the hulls of their yachts with a greasy coat of paint for summer.

    258
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    Mute Chris Long
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    May 17th 2021, 2:45 PM

    Well if the banks employees says so…. its not like they’re on the payroll or anything!

    148
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    Mute Eoin Jackson
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    May 17th 2021, 3:24 PM

    @Chris Long: you should hear what a lot of people who work in the finance sector have to say about their employers – they are also on the payroll… Being on the payroll doesn’t make anyone give praise to their employers. Not saying the banks are great or anything but the point you are implying is heavily flawed.

    48
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    Mute Adrian™
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    May 17th 2021, 3:03 PM

    Why would anyone say you have trust in a bank? Unless the mean they trust the bank to treat you like dirt and charge you handsomely for the pleasure…

    181
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    Mute Michael Healy
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    May 17th 2021, 3:20 PM

    Banks had to be forced to put in a payment break for loans and mortgages in the first lockdown and wouldn’t even entertain it cone the second one, and yet wonder why people have low trust in banks. Some people think we have the bank debt paid off when in reality we are just adding the covid borrowing to the bank debt and we can forget things like the USC ever going away, meanwhile banks can put out these false mortgage and loan ads where they look great and friendly without realising when u fall on hard times, they turn into pack wolves and can cause people serious health issues trying to repay things back

    133
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    Mute Jack Cass
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    May 17th 2021, 2:31 PM

    Ah! the innocence of youth.

    124
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    Mute Karen Delaney
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    May 17th 2021, 3:47 PM

    They’ve given us no reason to trust them. While the rest of the population scrimped out a living on much reduced pay, bankers continued with high salaries and bonuses.

    118
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    Mute Quiet Goer
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    May 17th 2021, 2:30 PM

    Pheic the cashless society

    42
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    Mute Corkonian In Dublin
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    May 17th 2021, 7:28 PM

    Asking bank staff about bank culture is like asking Landlords to vote for rent increases. If you want to know the true state of the Irish banking sector look at Ulster Bank and KBC. They are both pulling out. Leaving the country with AIB, BOI and PTSB. All of whom took state bailouts (your and mine pension money) and have yet to repay all of it (nor will they). I would like the EU to insist on the government to all Irish Citizens to open bank accounts in any bank on mainland Europe away from the so called “Pillar Banks”

    32
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    Mute Niall Donnelly
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    May 17th 2021, 5:17 PM

    Shower of Bankers!!!

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    Mute Deirdre O'Byrne
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    May 17th 2021, 7:06 PM

    @Niall Donnelly: wunch of bankers.

    22
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    Mute whitewater
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    May 17th 2021, 6:35 PM

    You can always trust the banks to screw you over. The future of banking is the likes of Revolut and N26. Revolut did what the major banks have resisted for years.

    31
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    Mute Mark
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    May 17th 2021, 7:37 PM

    @whitewater: Revolut is not a Bank and your money is NOT covered under the deposit guarantee scheme

    13
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    Mute thesaltyurchin
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    May 17th 2021, 6:48 PM

    If they could just do their job properly. These days anyone who can make a decision is surrounded by a jungle of in_ept monkeys, making them nearly impossible to contact, 4 years waiting for BOI to let us draw down the last of our mortgage! Don’t build a house people, not with a bank at least.

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    Mute Bill Spill
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    May 17th 2021, 9:19 PM

    @thesaltyurchin: 4 years waiting on the last drawdown?!?!? There HAS to be more to that story! Genuinely interested if you want to share

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    Mute Dsds
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    May 17th 2021, 7:14 PM

    I would have more trust in a politician than I would in a banker…..

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    Mute Rory J Leonard
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    May 17th 2021, 7:36 PM

    Irish Banking Culture Board!

    Was tried and tested First-World Corporate Governance procedures set down for Plc’s, including for Banks, not sufficient to establish an acceptable culture here, Boss?

    Is Ireland the only country on the planet with such a quaintly named organisation that’s established to assure the public that adherence to procedures manuals, first written hundreds of years ago on proper behaviour in day-to-day banking, is no longer optional for the senior management?

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